


Star Crossed

by TheMonsterGhost



Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-06
Updated: 2017-08-06
Packaged: 2018-12-11 19:56:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11721447
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheMonsterGhost/pseuds/TheMonsterGhost
Summary: drabble for the prompt "dead on arrival"The IPRE try to enjoy a peaceful evening under the stars on a new planet. It doesn't go well.





	Star Crossed

It was an ambush. They came in the middle of the night and tried to go for the cleric, first. A wise enough decision except Merle wasn’t actually asleep. He’d been having spinal issues that were keeping him awake as the crew camped under the stars. It was a lovely night for it and they’d figured it’d be a nice change of pace but Merle missed his bed.

Regardless, he tagged along and tried to soak in the atmosphere. The warm breeze, the quiet rustling of wind through trees, the distant call of some strange bird…

His eyes were closed and he was counting sheep when the sound of too-close breathing stirred him. He opened his eyes just as the knife came down, managing to scream, “WAKE UP!” before the blade ripped across his throat.

Magnus was first on his feet. He tackled the person on top of Merle, wrestling the knife out of their hands with ease. But there were so many of them… Violent locals living in a nearby cave. They hadn’t gotten the chance to explore it yet. How could they have possibly known…?

They flooded into the campsite with knives and spears. The team heard Davenport shout the order to retreat to the ship and then they scattered. Magnus stayed behind, fighting off as many as possible until he was sure everyone else managed to clear the site. Then he followed suit, dashing through the brush towards the Starblaster.

Footfalls were all around. Shadows blurred by as the IPRE tore through the trees. Magnus could see flashes of light in his peripheral vision. Magic launched back and forth. Was it Lucretia? Barry? One of the twins…? The flashes were getting farther and farther away in the darkness. Away from the Starblaster. Were they lost?

Magnus broke through the trees and into the clearing they had the Starblaster parked. Barry stood in the open door, reaching out a hand. Magnus jumped for it and both Barry and Lucretia pulled him aboard.

He could see Davenport typing commands into his console but no one else. Magnus asked, breathlessly, “Where’s Taako? Lup…?”

They turned to stare at the trees, hoping to see the twins making their own escape. The night was silent, again, save for their heavy breathing. Davenport called from the helm, “We need to close the doors and put her on lockdown. Do you see them?”

Feeling anxiety twist knots in his stomach, Magnus stared for a few moments more. _Nothing._

“I’m going after them,” he said.

“Alone?” asked Barry.

“Yeah, you guys need to stay here to protect the ship and let them in if they show up,” said Magnus. “I’ll be right back.”

Barry placed a hand on Magnus’ shoulder and for a moment, he believed Barry would tell him to play it safe and remain onboard. Instead, Magnus was met with an intense stare. “Bring them back safe, Magnus,” he said, “We’ll be here.”

Lucretia was at his side, offering up his axe. He hadn’t even needed to ask her to grab it for him. He took it with a grateful nod and then turned to his captain.

“Go get ‘em, Magnus,” said Davenport. Magnus gave a thumbs up and hopped off of the ship. The doors closed behind him and he disappeared back into the trees.

Magnus died before. He was the first to die, as a matter of fact. Merle and Barry had died, too. Lucretia had a close call but other than that, everyone else had made it through the cycles unscathed.

Another thing about dying: they’d only ever died near the end of the cycles. The team had never gone longer than a month or two without each other.

This was the beginning of a new cycle. The Light of Creation hadn’t even dropped from the sky yet. As far as they knew, they’d landed the Starblaster far from any civilization. Now, they’d have to live without Merle for an entire year. The thought was making Magnus sick with grief.

Still, he had no intention of losing anyone else. Judging by the scorch marks on the trees, he was hot on the twins’ trail. Bodies lined the straight path of embers diving far into the woods, freshly blackened and smelling horribly of death. Magnus held his axe in one hand and a handkerchief to his face with the other. 

Despite the carnage, it was quiet. This worried Magnus and he picked up the pace, jogging through the woods and calling out for Taako or Lup. The bodies stopped appearing and instead of following scorch marks, Magnus was following handprints of blood. There was a spattering of red on the ground and soon after, red handprints dragging across the trees. Magnus placed a hand over a print, noting that it would be about the height of one of the twins.

“…Taako?! Lup??”

Magnus could hear something and he began to run. A small sound. Almost… pathetic. Whimpering.

Magnus started to sprint and he called out again.

This time, he was met with a response. A sobbed, choked reply that sounded vaguely like his name.

" _Magnus...!_ "

Only a few more feet and Magnus found them. The ground was hot from a recent explosion of fire and in the middle of it all were the twins. 

Lup hung over Taako like a wet blanket and under her, he was sobbing. Her arms were limp at her sides, head hung, and a spear stuck out from her back. Magnus approached slowly, eyes wide in horror. He knelt beside Taako to see the spear had gone clean through her, struck true through her heart, and into her brother. They were stapled to the tree Taako was leaning against, a broken arrow in his side.

He was clutching the arrow in one hand, holding his sister’s face with the other, and sobbing uncontrollably. Magnus’ hands were shaking as he lifted Lup’s chin to see she was dead. A part of him had hoped to see her at least hanging on by a thread… Maybe then there would have been a chance…

He turned to Taako.

“Taako… holy shit, let me…” He brushed a hand against the arrow and Taako howled. The cry would have been louder if it wasn’t interrupted by the sudden cough that came over him. Specks of blood appeared on his lips and he rested his head against the trunk of the tree.

“Magnus…” he choked. And a chill ran through Magnus’ veins, spreading through his arms and coiling in his stomach.

“Taako, I’m sorry… But I have to get you back to the ship. We can still… You can still…” He winced, unable to will himself to finish the sentence. Because he knew it wasn’t true. He could tell by looking at the severity of the wounds, knowing Merle was gone, and knowing that Taako wouldn’t even…

“I don’t want to,” said Taako through tears, running rampant down his face as his eyes settled on his sister once again. “I can’t… a whole year without her, I c-can’t…”

“You _can_ ,” said Magnus, gripping Taako’s shoulder tight. Taako was shaking his head, pinching his eyes shut to try and clear the tears away. “I can’t just leave you here like this.”

Taako looked at him, eyes red and brimmed with tears but lucid. Fierce. His body rattled with the deep breath he attempted to take, hand resting over Magnus’. His skin was already cold.

“Magnus,” said Taako, his voice calm and clear, “Take the spear out of her and leave me here. I’m not going to make it.”

Magnus wanted to argue. He wanted to believe they could fight for Taako’s life and a part of him was angry at Taako for not wanting to try. Where was his sense of survival? Didn’t he care about how the others would feel upon losing him…?

But he knew he couldn’t convince him. And he knew there was no use in ignoring the gravity of Taako’s wounds. So, gritting his teeth and pursing his lips into a tight line, he gave Taako a stiff nod and stood up. Taako closed his eyes and Magnus ripped the spear from the tree. A scream pierced the air as it passed through Taako and then through Lup. Magnus tossed it aside as he caught Lup’s body.

Carefully, he set her down beside her brother. Taako was biting his lip, hand clenching tight to the hole in his chest, bleeding freely now. Magnus sank down again, heart hammering in his ears. Taako’s skin was so pale…

“F-fuck, it’s cold…” Taako muttered, voice hoarse. He coughed again and a thick bubble of blood erupted from his lips. He seemed shocked and apologetic for the mess it made on Magnus’ chest. “Sh-shit…”

“It… It’ll be okay, Taako,” said Magnus gently. He could see fear creeping into Taako’s eyes. The elf reached out and held tight to Lup’s hand, turning to look at her. From his angle, she seemed to be merely sleeping. He cracked a smile as tears rolled down his cheeks.

Magnus said, “You’ll wake up and it’ll be like nothing happened.”

“…Yeah?” asked Taako.

“Yeah. Lup will be there. I’ll be there. We’ll all be there! And I’ll make breakfast for you guys so you don’t have to—“

“Don’t even th-think about it Burnsides,” Taako said, smiling wider now. A wave of pain hit him and he curled in on himself, moving closer to Lup. Magnus helped make sure he was comfortable. Taako rested his head on her shoulder and Magnus brushed hair away from his eyes.

Pale. Cold. Clammy.

Magnus kept a straight face.

“Alright, I won’t burn the kitchen down but we’ll still do something fun. I bet the next planet is gonna have all the best uh… Vegetables and stuff. Like, really good food to make some awesome meals, you know?”

Taako closed his eyes. “Yeah? Tell me more.”

Taako’s voice was so quiet… Magnus choked when he tried to speak again. He cleared his throat. “Um. So. There’s gonna be a big city with some restaurants that are just… _Incredible_. You’re gonna take us all to your favorites but you know no one will appreciate the food as much as Lup does.”

Taako stopped moving. Not even his shoulders were rising and falling. The stress in his brow released and he looked… almost peaceful. The whisper of a sigh escaped his lips and then… nothing.

Magnus sniffed and rubbed at his eyes. “And um… You’ll spend _hours_ trying to recreate your favorite dishes in the kitchen… It’s going to smell amazing onboard for the entire year but you’ll just keep going at it. We’ll wake up every morning to you singing something off-key in the kitchen, taking up every inch of counter space… Then, you’ll make something new and super delicious and it’s gonna be the best thing any of us have ever had…”

He stopped, unable to continue speaking through the frog in his throat. Magnus _ahemed_ loudly and sniffed and rubbed his eyes but he couldn’t start back up. He shook Taako’s shoulder and managed a quiet, “…Taako?”

He pressed two fingers to his neck but there was no pulse. Three friends lost in one day. In the blink of an eye. And a year ahead to forge without them. Magnus sat back and put his head in his hands. “Fuck…”

When he’d managed to pull himself together, he stood back up and shouldered his axe. He briefly considered trying to take the bodies with him but… It would be dangerous, considering everything that had happened. The violent locals could still be out there. More could be on the way, even.

Most likely, Davenport would want to move the ship soon. They were probably waiting anxiously for his return. So he couldn’t waste any more time.

With a resigned sigh, Magnus turned his back on the twins, wrapped up in one another under the stars.

It would be a long and quiet year.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! I'm accepting drabble prompts on my **[Twitter](http://twitter.com/themonsterghost)** and my **[Tumblr](http://themonsterghost.tumblr.com)**. Feel free to message me and consider tipping me on **Ko-Fi** (themonsterghost) to help me buy ramen! :D And hey, let me know what you think. I'm happy to hear from yall. Thanks!


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